Method and apparatus for conditioning fibrous material



R. B. SMITH Jan. 29, 1935.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITIONING FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed May 3l, 1933 INVENTOR Robe/L Patented Jan. 29, 1935 METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR CONDITION ING FIBROUS MATERIAL f Robert Bigham Smith, Atlanta, Ga., assignor to' Bowers & Barksdale, Atlanta, Ga., a partnership consisting of C. L. Bowers and R. M. Barksdale Application May 31, 1933, serial No. 673,677

s claims. (o1. zas-s) The invention relates to a method of operation and to a machine for use in practicing the method for conditioning yarn or other fibrous material when wound on spools, bobbins, cocks, quills,

5 or the like, to the action of water or other moistening, penetrating, or other conditioning agent, so that the yarn or filling may properly operate in the subsequent cloth or other weaving operations.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an improved technique in the method of conditioning brous material when wound on quills or the like prior to their use in the looms. The primary object of the machine aspect of the present invention is to provide a simplified machine of the type outlined by means of which the method may be practiced efficiently and specifically to provide a machine which will eiiiciently subject quills passedtherethrough to the required spraying operation to insure a desired thorough conditioning of the material on the quills; to deliver the same in substantially uniform condition and at the same time to minimize, if not entirely eliminate, the messy surrounding conditions which have characterized previously known forms of similar machines.

This objective is obtained primarily by featuring the dividing of the conditioning operation into two major steps; first, the subjecting of the Wound quills to an intense spraying operation while passing through a cloud of ne particles of the conditioning machine confined within a closed space, and second, the subjecting of the sprayed quills to what may be called a draining operation to permit any surplus of the conditioning water or liquid to be drained therefrom and the drippings returned to the machine as the quills with their adhering wettings are passed from the machine. It is understood that after the quills are discharged from the machine herein featured the lling or other material on the quills is simply wetted with a surface wetting and that the quills are later permitted to rest for a time in order to insure the permeation of the wetting material throughout the mass of filling before the quills are used in looms or other machines. A

Incidental to the feature of economy in operation, the invention has for another object the providing of means for catching and conveying back to the spraying system or flow line of the machine any surplus material which may drip from any part of the interior of the machine, or from the quills themselves while passing through the machine, As part of the arrange-- through the spraying system.'`

ment for re-using the conditioning liquid the invention contemplatesthe use of a replaceable iiltering device for straining foreign matter out of the drippings before they are again passed Still another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the type outlined which features economy in space necessary to accommodate it and a disposition of the component parts of the machine in such'way as will utilize all of the contained space.v

The present disclosure particularly features the providing of a delivery chute at the discharge end of the machine, disposed tov discharge the treated quills at proper. levels into a yarn truck or other receptacle and at the same time which will functionv up to the last instant of delivery of the quillsfrom the machine to drain from the quills any surplus conditioning liquid which up to that instant had not been absorbed by the yarn on the quills. n

The present invention also features certain safety advantages, as in the housing of movable parts such as the conveyor, and in /theproviding of a resilient lip at the receiving end of the delivery chute adjacent the discharge end ofthe conveyor for the purpose of preventing any quills from being caught between the conveyor and the chute and to minimize possibility of an'A operator getting his hand caught between the conveyor and chute.- n

Various other objects and advantagesv of the invention will be inpart obvious lfrom a consideration of the method and `features ofthe disclosure and from an inspection of the accompanying drawing and in part will'be more fully set forth in lthe following particulardescription of one method of practicing the invention, and the invention also consists vin certain new and novel modifications of the preferred method and other features of construction and combinations of parts hereinafter set forth and claimed.

The accompanying drawing is a longitudinal vertical sectional view through a preferred embodiment of the invention and with parts ofthe casing broken away to show hidden parts.

There is disclosed in the drawing an elongated housed structure formed for the most part of metal panelsriveted to a skeleton frame formed mainly of interconnected angle irons and within which casing is mounted a longitudinally'extending conveyor with associated parts forming a spraying system.

Theoutlining skeleton frame includes a rugged supporting base 10 formed of I beams 11 and angle bar uprights 12 with horizontally extending connecting struts such as the roof supporting bars 13 and connecting cross pieces 14. Within this metal base 10 may be inserted wooden fillers and otherwise it is the intent to provide a firm rugged support for the machine. Upright panels 15 are secured to the ,skeletonl frame and coact there- With to'formsidewalls; one of which isshown at 16 and an end wall 17. A single plate 18 bent to shape forms a roof for what may be called the front or delivery end of theixnachine. The roof is omitted from the rear end of the machine ,and the side and end walls at this end ofthe machine form an open hopper 19 throughwhich" the quills Q may be introduced into the machine. A bottom plate 20 coacts with the lower portion of the side Walls and the rear wall 17 and with a short front plate 21 to formu a wide, long, shallowA This tank is of large di.-

tank or reservoir 22. mension with a wide open top so as to present a large-receivingarea to catch thedrip fromthe conveyorfand associated. parts hereinafter described and-to receive' this drip spread out over a large farea of the nltering top to the tank.

The top of the ytank is outlined by angled shoulders 23? which provide a support for a removablestrainer 24. This .strainer includes a closemesh` screen 25 positioned on which is a layer of vfiltering .material 26, preferably a wool cloth. The strainer-is` provided' at its front end with a handle 27 by means of .which .the front end ofthe-strainer may be readily lifted from the top ofthetank and removedfrom the machine through theopen; front end, with the rear end oifthei-strainer slidingfalong. the guidingy shoulders 23.

Positioned in the housing above the tank is an apron conveyor 28.*inclined upwardly` and for- Wardly. from the receiving to its discharging end. The conveyor includes tWo--iiexible belts or chains, one of which is shown at 29, transversely spaced apart. andabout end Wheels.,30 and 31 conventionally. The conveyor, however, distinguishes from .knownformsintheprovidingof slats 32, 33,. arranged in .pairs and extending transversely of the length of .the direction of travel of the conveyor.. These .slats are in the form of angle bars: with onetange 34 of each riveted to the flexible element 29fand its other-flange 35 extending..outwardly` at rightangles to the plane of travel of the conveyor. The slats of each pair are arranged-withtheir included angles 36 facingeach other and spaced apart a distance to provide,- aseat 37 designed to accommodate the quillQinthe seat. The outstanding .flange 35 of oneset-,of slotsY is disposed in juxtaposition to, the` adjacent flange 38 of the next contiguous set and-the spacing is so disposed-that it will not. be..suicient. to accommodate a quill, which wilLbe jolted-.of the upstanding edges` by the ordinary vibration of the -machina The. adjacent nangesy 35 and 88 are suflicently spaced apart so Vas to avoid any interference with the movementofthe iiexible element-29 as it moves about. the peripheries of the guide wheels and 31. This spacing apart of the slats to provide openingsbetween. and. on opposite sides of the belts 29 throughthe conveyor and through which openings any surplusv conditioning liquid on the conveyor. is permitted to drop therethrough on to the strainer 24` and hence into the tank or reservoir 22.

The Wheels 30 and 31 are supported respectively on shafts. 39,' and 40.fjournalledV at opposite ends in-suitablebearing (not shown) carried by the frame on the outside of the casing. The elevated delivery end of the conveyor 28 is substantially enclosed on all sides and has its upper end exposed to an enclosed dome-like spraying chamber 41, the roof 18 outlining the top of this space being inclined downwardly at opposite ends so that `moisture adhering to thefundersidev of the roof vwill tend to drain therefrom and eventually flow back into the tank 22. Within the space 41 are two lines of spray heads 42, 43, carried by the roof. framing.; The spray heads are disposed at an inwardly directed angle so as to direct their streams or rather sprays angularly towards opposite" sides of the upper portion of the quills Q; This arrangement of the spray heads acting in conjunction with the fact that the conveyor apron inclines upwardly towards the same has the effect of -directly spraying all sides of the quill except the small areaed portion which is actually in engagement with the seat 37 and as each quill visabout to roll oi the conveyor` at the left end of the machine there willvbe a tendency for any surplus: liquid on what was originally the upper side of the quill to flow therefrom on to the side which was previously in engagement with the seat, so that there is a tendency to an entire surface wetting of the quill before it leaves the machine.

Projecting from the front end of the machine is a downwardly extending perforated chuteV 44 provided with a pair of side sheets 45. The chute includes a flat bottom plate 46 which is provided with draining apertures 47 in the form of longitudinally extending slots. Cross pieces 48 and 49fprovide a support for the chute with cross piece49 secured kat opposite ends to the end uprights 12. Positioned beneath the chute and extending from its deliveryend 50 downwardly and towards the tank 22 is a catch basin 51. The delivery end 50 is. so disposed that it is at the proper elevation to discharge the quills Q into ayarn truck.T in which they are delivered to the looms or weaving machines. The catch basin 51 is so disposedy that it can 4receive surplus drippings from the quillsQ on the: chute and convey the fdrippings' into` the frontend of the tank 22 as indicated bythe small arrows. As the rear part 51 of the pan is positioned beneath the discharge end ofthe conveyor italso acts to `receive any liquid Vwhich may have been carried around and thrown iover bythe conveyor as it dumps the quills.

It will be understood that for the major portion `the bottom or quill receiving portion of the chute isa rigid construction, preferably a perforated metal. grid as above outlined. The; end of the chute adjacent'the conveyorV is made elastic or iiexible and in the instant case it is in the form of a rubber lip 52 designed so as to be easily bent from its normal position as Yshown in full lines into the depressed position shown in vdotted lines in the gure. Withthis construction there isavoided the possibility of the quills becoming jammed between thechute and the conveyor. It will be obvious that in the eventthat thequills should become stuck to their seats for any reason they would simply pass by the chute pressing the lip `52 out ofthe way to` permit theirpassage, after which the resiliency of the lip would restore it to its normal position forming an elongation of the plate 46.

An electric motor and associated rotary pump 53 is positionedvwithinthe casing; in the space in advance of. the tank 22; and beneath the rear extension 54: of the-,catch pam-51;- The pumpiis supplied from the tank.22, the inlet or suction end 55 being disposed so that the pump is'at all times primed from the tank. .The pump discharges through a main upright conduit 56 positioned on the outside of the casing and led to branch conduits 7 on top of the machine which supply the lines of the spray heads 42 and 43. The motor is also connected by means of a belt 58, a reducing pulley 59 and a belt 60 to drive shaft 39 which in turn drives the apron conveyor in the direction indicated by the long arrows.

In operation and assuming that the motor is active driving the pump which in turn is causing the spray heads to become active and that the conveyor is moving at a regulated speed controlled. by the character of conditioning treatments to which the quills are to be subjected, the quills yare dumped into the hopper 19 vand are picked up one by one bythe seat forming slats and are moved into the enclosed. spraying space 41. It is, of course, obviously within the scope of the disclosure to make the conveyor of a width to accommodate any desired number of quills in each seat. As the quills pass through the enclosed space, they are subjected not only to the action of the sprays directed onto the same from the spray heads but are passed through a heavily charged atmosphere, vapor or cloud of small particles of the conditioning liquid and are maintained under these wetting conditions for a period of time controlled by the speed of the conveyor. As the quills reach the end of their surface wetting treatment, they are discharged from the conveyor and as they fall on to the chute, change their direction of movement from a movement with the quills extending laterally of the conveyor to a. movement down the chute longitudinally of their axis and as noted to the left of the iigure. As the quills slide down the incline the weighted end is in the advance and under these conditions there is a possibility of lateral or side rolling movement which assists in discharging any surplus material which may be on the surface in distinction from in the surface of the yarn on the quill. The length of the chute is designed so as to be sufcient to catch any of this surplus surface material which may flow from the quill. When the surplus conditioning liquid has had an opportunity to iow off, the quills are eventually discharged into the yarn truck T.

Tracing the flow line of the conditioning liquid, it will be noted that it iiows through the pipe 55, through the motor driven pump 53, through the conduit 56, branches 57 to the spray heads 42 and 43 and thus on to the quills Q. Any surplus liquid draining from any part of the machine is permitted to drop on to the filter 26 and therethrough and through the screen 25 into the tank 22. As it passes through the strainer loose particles and other foreign matter are filtered out of the liquid and the resulting clean liquid is deposited in the tank. From time to time the strainer can be removed, a fresh strainer positioned in place and this replacing of strainers may be accomplished without necessity of interrupting the continuity of operation of the machine. The removed strainers may be easily cleaned and replaced over the tank when needed.

By means of a device of this character it is possible to effect a much cleaner conditioning of bobbins, quills and the like, than has been possible heretofore and the usual splash and leakage incidental to such a conditioning operation'yis confined withinthe outlines of the machine. There is provided.` a simple procedure which assures a uniform conditioning of the quills, irrespective of external atmospheric conditions, and in general, a clean, neat handling of thequilis under controlled conditions.

While there has been shown and described and pointed out in the annexedclairns, certain novel features of the invention, it will be understood that various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form andy details of the device illustrated and in its operation may be made by those skilled in the art-without departing from the spirit of the invention. L i

I claim:

l. In a quill conditioning machine, the combination of a mechanism containing casing including a pair or" side Walls and a rear end Wall, the opposite or front end being open, a motor and pump driven thereby and both located within the casing at the open front end, an apron conveyor contained within the casing, driven from the motor and including wheels supported at opposite ends from the side walls, lsaid casing including a roof substantially enclosing the space above the delivery end ci the conveyor, spray heads located in said space above the discharge end of the conveyor and supplied from said pump, a short front plate coacting with the lower portions of the side and end walls to form a tank underlying the conveyor for substantially its entire area, a strainer for the top of the tank, said strainer being removable irom the casing through the open end and a chute secured to the front of the casing and projecting beyond the same at its open end, said chute disposed to receive and discharge from the machine at an elevated level, quills delivered thereto by the conveyor.

2. In a quill conditioning machine, the combination of amechanism containing casing including a pair of side walls and an end wall, the opposite end being open, a motor and pump driven thereby and both located within the casing at the open end and conveniently accessible, an apron conveyor driven from the motor and including wheels supported at opposite ends from the side walls, spray heads located in the casing above the discharge end of the conveyor and supplied from said pump, a tank wall coacting with the lower portions of the side and end walls to form a tank underlying the conveyor and a strainer for the top of the tank, said strainer being readily removable from the casing through the open end of the casing and adapted to be replaced by a similar strainer.

3. in a quill conditioning machine, the combination of a housing, an apron conveyor therein,

a tank located in the space beneath the conveyor,

an inclined chute at the discharge end of the conveyor for receiving quills from the conveyor and for discharging the same from the machine, said chute provided with draining apertures, a pan located beneath the chute for receiving drip therefrom and for conveying the accumulated drippings back to the tank, a spraying device in the housing above the conveyor, a pump located below the tank primed from and supplied by the liquid in the tank and discharging the liquid to the spraying device.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination of an apron conveyor, a housing in which the conveyor is contained, said housing having an opening at the discharge end of the conveyor and having a roof, terminating in spaced relation tothe: receivingV 4end of the conveyor, thereby to expose the upper side of the receiving end of the conveyor, andsaid housing otherwise enclosing the'. .conveyor andV providing a roofed enclosure above `the conveyor at its discharge end, a plurality of spray heads carried by` the roof and directed towards the discharge end of the conveyor,.a tank positioned below the conveyor to receive dripping therefrom, a perforated inclined chute for receiving the discharge from the apron, a catch pan beneath the chute for receiving drippingtherefrom and for directing the same into the tanka pun-lp contained in the space beneath the catch pan and a conduit for supplying the pump from the tank and for supplying the spray heads fromA the pump.

5. Ina device of theclass described, the combination of an apron conveyor, a housing in which the conveyor is contained, said housing having an opening at the discharge end of the conveyor and having a roof opened at the receiving end of the conveyor, and said housing otherwise enclosing the conveyor and providing a roofed enclosure above the. conveyor at its discharge end, a plurality ofspray heads carried by the rooi' and disposedv to direct theirdischarge towards the discharge end yof the conveyor, a tank positioned below theconveyor to receive dripping therefrom, a perforated inclined chute for receiving the discharge from the apron, and a catch pan beneath the chute for receiving dripping therefrom and for directing-the same into the tank.

6. Inga quill conditioning machine, the combination of a housing, an apron conveyor mounted therein with the discharge end of the conveyor elevated above its receiving end, the top of the housing at the receiving end of the conveyor being open to form a hopper for receiving the quills to be conditioned, a spraying device contained within the housing and said housing provided with a discharge opening at the discharge end of the conveyor, a tank within the housing beneath .the conveyor, an. inclined chute projecting Jbeyond the housing and disposed to receive the quills discharged from the conveyor and for discharging. the quills from the machine, said chute being perforated, and a catch pan projecting from the housing, located beneath the chute to receive liquid drippings discharged through the perforation in the' chute and acting to convey the'dripping to the tank.

7. In a machine for conditioning quills and the like, an apron conveyor, supporting wheels about which the conveyor passes, said conveyor including a flexible belt, a plurality of slats extending transversely of the line of travel of the conveyor, said slats each comprising a rigid L-shaped barwith one flange secured to the belt and the other flange extending outwardly at right angles to the plane of travel of the conveyor, said slats arranged in pairs with the included angle of one bar facing the included angle of the other bar to form therebetween a seat for receiving a quill and the outwardly extending flange of one set being relatively close to the similarflange of the next adjacent set and disposed to prevent a quill from falling outside of the seats therefor provided between the pairs of slots, said slats oi each pair capable of relative movement with the belt to permit the movement of the conveyor about the supporting wheels and to permit the slats of each pair to open slightly as the pair passes about the supporting Wheels.

8. In a machine for conditioning quills, a conveyor including a pair of slats extending transversely of the line of travel of the conveyor, each of said slats comprising an L-shaped bar, with the included angle of one bar facing the other, and forming between them a seat for a quill, said slats being flexibly connected and capable of relative movement in releasing the quill from its seat.

ROBERT BIGHAM SMITH. 

